Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Salmon is a more moderate right of center Republican Party vote. As a result, he may break with the Republican Party line more than his fellow members.

Biography

Salmon is a Salt Lake City, Utah, native, although his father's job at Mountain Bell Telephone took the family through New Mexico, and eventually, Arizona. When Salmon graduated from his high school in Mesa, he was president of the student body. After high school, Salmon spent two years on a Mormon mission in Taiwan. While in Taiwan, Salmon learned to speak Mandarin. Upon his return to the United States, Salmon enrolled at Arizona State University. He received his bachelor's degree in 1981 and his M.P.A. from Brigham Young University in 1986.[4]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Salmon's professional and political career:[5]

1981-1994: Public Affairs Manager for telecommunications company US West

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[8] For more information pertaining to Salmon's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[9]

National security

NDAA

Salmon voted against HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[10]

DHS Appropriations

Salmon voted for HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 that was largely along party lines.[11]

CISPA (2013)

Salmon voted for HR 624 - the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities. The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.[12]

Economy

Government shutdown

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[13] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[14] Salmon voted to approve the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[15]

The shutdown finally ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funds the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[16] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Salmon voted against HR 2775.[17]

2013 Farm Bill

In July 2013 the Republican controlled House narrowly passed a scaled-back version of the farm bill after stripping out the popular food-stamp program.[18][19] The bill passed on a 216-208 vote, with no Democrats voting in favor.[20] All but 12 Republicans supported the measure.[21] The group consisted mostly of conservative lawmakers more concerned about spending than farm subsidies.[21][22] Salmon was one of the 12 who voted against the measure.[21]

The farm bill historically has included both billions in farm subsidies and billions in food stamps. Including both of the two massive programs has in the past helped win support from rural-state lawmakers and those representing big cities.[20] After the bill failed in the House in June 2013 amid opposition from rank-and-file Republicans, House leaders removed the food stamp portion in a bid to attract conservative support.[20]

Federal Pay Adjustment Act

Salmon voted for HR 273 - Eliminates the 2013 Statutory Pay Adjustment for Federal Employees. The bill passed the House on February 15, 2013, with a vote of 261 - 154. The bill would prevent a 0.5% pay increase for all federal workers from taking effect, saving the federal government $11 billion over 10 years.[23]

Immigration

Morton Memos Prohibition

Salmon voted for House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States.[24] The vote largely followed party lines.[25]

Healthcare

Health Care Reform Rules

Salmon voted for House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires that all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.[26]

Social issues

Abortion

Salmon voted for HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196 that largely followed party lines. The purpose of the bill is to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.[27]

Conservative Fight Club

According to the conservative website RedState, Salmon is 1 of 16 U.S. House members in the "Conservative Fight Club", a designation meant to describe the gold standard of conservatives, as outlined by RedState. They are the 16 Republicans who voted against the continuing appropriations resolution to avoid the impending government shutdown in March. This type of resolution is used to fund government agencies when a formal federal budget has not been approved.[28]

Campaign themes

2012

Excerpt: "America's economy is facing daunting challenges. For over a decade, Washington politicians have failed to live within their means, turning a budget surplus of over $230 billion into a $1.6 trillion deficit."

Growth & Prosperity

Excerpt: "For too long, Washington politicians have stymied economic growth with policies that have increased taxes and regulation on businesses and job creators. These policies have resulted in a national debt that is now over $15 trillion, an unemployment rate that remains above 9% and damaging levels of uncertainty within our financial system."

Securing Our Borders

Excerpt: "It is the duty of our federal government to protect and secure our national borders. Yet, as the constant threat of terrorism and increased drug cartel violence intensifies, millions of unidentified persons continue to cross our borders illegally, posing grave risks to the sovereignty of the United States and the security of its people."

Health Care Reform

Excerpt: "As our deficit and national debt figures continue to explode at alarming rates, so too do health care costs. Despite having some of the finest physicians, hospitals and medical centers in the world, America remains a nation with too many of its citizens unable to access affordable health care or who choose to forgo health insurance all together."

Educating Our Future

Excerpt: "In a world where global economic competition is rapidly increasing, providing a top-level education for our children is more vital than ever. However, despite spending more money on education than any other nation in the world, America's public school system does not perform at the top of global education rankings."

Elections

2014

Salmon is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election on August 26, 2014. The general election took place November 4, 2014.

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Salmon is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Salmon raised a total of $1,272,757 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 22, 2013.[33]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Salmon's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Salmon won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Salmon's campaign committee raised a total of $1,272,757 and spent $1,186,744.[43] This is less than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[44]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Salmon missed 141 of 3,830 roll call votes from January 1995 to March 2013. This amounts to 3.7%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[47]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Salmon's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $16,005 and $319,997. That averages to $168,001, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2011 of $7,859,232.[48]

Voting with party

2013

The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Salmon has voted with the Republican Party 93.7% of the time. This ranked 197th among the 233 House Republicans as of June 2013.[49]